Watch: Severn Valley Railway founder members gather to mark 50th anniversary
The founding members of the Severn Valley Railway were reunited as the attraction celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Yesterday marked 50 years to the day since a group of young railway enthusiasts gathered in the Coopers Arms in Kidderminster and decided to reopen the line, which was shut in 1963.
It took five years of effort and intensive fundraising before the first five-mile section of the line, between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade, was bought.
The railway opened for passenger services again soon after that and the rest, as they say, is history.
To mark the 50th anniversary of that meeting back in 1965, now credited as the inception of the Severn Valley Railway (SVR), more than 100 early members gathered for a day of celebrations.
A special anniversary dining train service left Kidderminster just after midday, with those on board enjoying a three-course lunch en route to Bridgnorth while reminiscing about memories of the railway from the early days.
The train then returned to Kidderminster, where the VIP visitors enjoyed a tour of the Kidderminster Railway Museum, followed by the unveiling and presentation of the official Severn Valley Railway 50th birthday card.
The card had been specially designed by 11-year-old Millie Blewitt, from Worcester, whose design was picked from more than 200 entries to the SVR's Design us a Birthday Card competition, which ran from February to December. Clare Gibbard, of the Severn Valley Railway, said: "The Severn Valley Railway has been through so much during its first half-century, from its inception right through to becoming the hugely-popular, award-winning tourist attraction that today welcomes more than 200,000 visitors a year.
"However, none of this could have happened without the hard work and dedication of our volunteers and staff, and most importantly our founding members, whose passion and incredible efforts led to the SVR being created in the first place.
"This anniversary event has been organised to recognise this amazing achievement and to say a big thank you for all the hard work they have put in over the last 50 years."
